


Fascination

by Metalkatt



Category: Shadow Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-23
Updated: 2005-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:22:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27885958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metalkatt/pseuds/Metalkatt
Summary: It's been a long time since Nina has seen the lord of Blue Castle.





	Fascination

I want him.

I know it’s a silly thing to say, as I sit here doing accounts for Mother, but it’s true. My numbers blur in front of my eyes; I’m starting to daydream again. Mother will be upset with me; she thinks that he did something to me, all those years ago to make me like this, but she doesn’t understand it. I haven’t seen him in six years, but I remember as vividly as I remember what I had for breakfast this morning. I remember everything.

The night was cold as I tried to get back home… when you’re twelve, it’s hard to remember which trees are which in the dark. And then the wolves… They don’t normally attack people, mind, but when the curse was on our village, they all went crazy. I saw their yellow eyes and grey fur, and I knew there was something wrong with them by the way they moved. They didn’t move like normal wolves did, like someone was pulling strings on them. I thought for sure I was going to die then, and all I could worry about was Mother.

Then, before I knew it, two strong arms nabbed me about the middle and lifted me up. I was so startled that I couldn’t make a peep, and then he pulled me in. I hadn’t been held in so long by Papa that I wasn’t used to it anymore, and I didn’t remember where to put my hands. But, those arms shifted me around, and the man holding me gestured with his hand at the wolves. The light just sort of went out of their eyes, and they fell to the ground like they were exhausted.

“Did you kill them?” I asked, only then turning to look at the person who saved me. I was caught like a fish on a hook on those eyes of his, ice-violet and sharp. I almost didn’t hear him when he answered, said that they were fine, and just resting. I couldn’t breathe for a moment, and then he put me down. His eyes were still beautiful from a distance, though they weren’t so powerful then. The spell was shattered, though, when he bowed in front of me like a prince and asked my name. Even if he hadn’t been a prince truly, he still would have been one to me. He had soft, silky hair that moved like water in the moonlight, and a pale glow rose from it like a halo. He was lean, compactly-built and elegant, and I wondered later how he even had the strength to pick me up. His fingers were long and thin, just like the rest of him, and so beautifully made. I’ve never seen any other man with hands like that.

He wore an old-fashioned outfit with a waistcoat and cravat, and I remember stifling a giggle when I saw the ruffles flutter in the breeze. He said his name was Keith Valentine, and I remembered Mother telling me about the old lords of the area, and how Valentine had been their name. He smiled, and oh, what a smile. I swear it was brighter than the moon that night, and he offered me his hand to walk me home. We sang on the way back, and his voice… I’ve never heard anything like it since. If I hadn’t been enamoured with him before, that would have been the end. It was if the entire earth stopped to listen; he sang with the rustle of the trees and the roll of the land beneath us. It was almost enough to make me believe in something other than God.

Six years ago, and I still remember it like it was last night. I’m spoiled now; I’ll never want anyone else. So, I sit here and keep Mother’s accounts, practice my drawing, and sing in the church choir… and wait for the lights of Blue Castle to burn one more time.


End file.
